Cancer News

Melanoma Risk Up in IBD Independent of Biologic Therapy

Friday, January 31, 2014 (Last Updated: 02/03/2014)

FRIDAY, Jan. 31, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with an increased risk of melanoma, independent of the use of biologic therapy, according to research published in the February issue of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

Siddharth Singh, M.B.B.S., of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., and colleagues conducted a systematic review of the literature and performed a meta-analysis of 12 cohort studies, involving a total of 172,837 patients with IBD, to assess the association between IBD and risk of melanoma.

The researchers found that IBD was associated with an increased risk of melanoma (12 studies: relative risk [RR], 1.37; 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.10 to 1.70). The risk of melanoma was increased in patients with Crohn's disease (seven studies: RR, 1.80; 95 percent CI, 1.17 to 2.75) and patients with ulcerative colitis (seven studies: RR, 1.23; 95 percent CI, 1.01 to 1.50). The risk of melanoma was higher in patients with IBD for studies performed prior to 1998, before biologic therapies were introduced (eight studies: RR, 1.52; 95 percent CI, 1.02 to 2.25), but not for studies performed after 1998 (two studies: RR, 1.08; 95 percent CI, 0.59 to 1.96).

"Based on a meta-analysis, IBD has been associated with an increased risk of melanoma, independent of the use of biologic therapy," the authors write. "Patients diagnosed with IBD should be counseled on their risk for melanoma."